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Friday, 15 January 2016

When I rediscovered my 'lost' scratch-built/modified vehicles I was reminded of Chris Kemp's NQM (NOT QUITE MECHANISED) wargame rules, which were the direct progenitor of Tim Gow's MEGABLITZ. Chris has always been a prominent advocate of the use of scratch-built/modified models of vehicles that are not or were not readily available to buy 'off the shelf', and has – over the years – produced some wonderfully robust models that certainly looked the part even if they were not 100% accurate.

I first met Chris thirty five years ago (!) at the inaugural Conference of Wargamers. The conference was organised by the late Paddy Griffith and was entitled 'New Directions In Wargaming'. It was held at Moor Park College near Farnham, Surrey, over the weekend of 23rd to 25th May 1980. Even then Chris was trying to devise a wargame that allowed players to fight wargames at the sort of level that military historians wrote World War II campaign histories about, and over the years this endeavour coalesced into what became NQM (NOT QUITE MECHANISED.

Eventually Chris turned his pile of notes into a set of rules entitled PANZERBLITZ ... OR NOT QUITE MECHANISED ... and I am lucky enough to actually own a copy of them. (I actually own Copy No.1 of 20, and it occupies a special place in my collection of wargame rules.)

As stated on the cover, the rules came with their own 'Free Playsheet'.

Since then the rules have continued to evolve, and the current draft of the rules (or what Chris prefers to call the NQM Umpire Guidelines) can be found on his blog. His blog also contains the battle reports from his ongoing re-fight of the German invasion of Russia ... although the tabletop Germans were – until recently – doing better than their historical counterparts.

Thank's for the link to Chris Kemp's NQM. I was vaguely thinking of writing my own BB4ST rule set for WW2, but wht reinvent the wheel? Megablitz or NQM, or even some modification to Command Decision looks like the way to go! Great!

I have always had a very high regard for your rules and your wargames; I have always enjoyed the latter and miss your contributions to WD and THE NUGGET. As to the comment ... well anyone who knows you will understand the humour, and those that don't understand it are the losers.

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The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame

The First Rule:

‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'

- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane

The Spirit of the Wargame:

‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’

- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.

About Me

I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for the past ten years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming.
I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.